Rhône marketing declared most memorable

Côtes du Rhône is the most memorably marketed wine region in the world according to a new survey of the UK trade.

When over 100 members the wine industry were asked by Wine Intelligence to name a region or country which was good at communicating itself, the Côtes du Rhône came joint first place with Chile, ahead of other prominent wine-producing places such as Bordeaux or New Zealand.

Then, when they were asked to whether they were aware of marketing activities from a range of named regions and countries, it was the Côtes du Rhône that came top by a significant margin.

Speaking to the drinks business about the results, Olivier Legrand, marketing manager at Inter Rhône, said he was “surprised”, but pleased.

“Seeing the results does make one want to sit down like an artist and admire your masterpiece, but you can’t, and these results create obligations for the future,” he remarked.

Inter Rhône sponsored the London Double Header rugby match in 2011 and 2012 but is switching its investment in 2013 to the Meltdown Festival

Looking back, Legrand said the Côtes du Rhône had no clear identity in any market 15 years ago, but that Inter Rhône had worked to position the region “at the heart of the French offer.”

As part of this, Legrand said the region had focused on promoting itself as “good value for money”, with an “image of pleasure and accessibility”.

Such messages were targeted at the UK – a key market for Côtes du Rhône – and augmented by what was initially an irreverent print campaign.

Launched in the late 90s were a series of posters comprising black and white cartoon animals featuring flashes of red, allied to the tagline “Think Red, Think Côtes du Rhône”.

‘Specious’ – great word. Completely agree. Key reason why consumers weren’t polled is that you’d get a big ‘Er’ from 99.99% of all those interviewed. NO wine advertising stands out. It’s universally awful. As is the approach to PR. *sighs*